Several different grounds can give rise to Business disputes in West Virginia. Often, businesses will disagree over the exact meaning of terms found in contracts or prior oral agreements. Billing issues and property matters also commonly form grounds for disagreements between businesses.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

In a business dispute in Buckhannon, West Virginia, the parties should first go over any relevant documents, especially contracts. There may be terms in these documents that determine how to handle the dispute. If there are no relevant documents, or the contracts do not have resolution clauses, then the dispute may need to be taken to court. West Virginia courts will look to your particular case and try to discover the best resolution. In determining the outcome, they will use a specific set of legal principles designed for situations where the parties have not agreed beforehand on how to handle a dispute. The fields of contract law and dispute resolution are defined by local state law. Buckhannon Attorneys are accustomed to handling disputes under West Virginia law, and can offer personalized advice for all types of business disputes. Negotiations may also proceed more smoothly when an attorney is consulted, which may even lead to a resolution outside of court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Contracts often have clauses requiring that a dispute be handled outside of court. This is called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR, and it includes Mediation and Arbitration among others. ADR makes going to court unnecessary, because it is designed to reach the same result that a court would have. Still, some methods of ADR entail their own formal procedures, most enlisting a third party to decide a dispute based on local law just as a judge would do. If ADR is to be used in resolving your dispute, an attorney in Buckhannon familiar with ADR procedures can help you develop your case.